I realize that some of you may not be thinking about Christmas yet, what with 2 major holidays still left to go, but as of today, there are only 2 months till Christmas Day! And I know how crazy December can be, so I thought I'd post this early enough to give people time to hit the stores for supplies before they run out of the cute stuff!
Last year, I got to thinking about the amount of wrapping paper we waste every Christmas, once everyone has opened their presents. We typically fill 2 large, black trash bags. I thought about the extra money I spend every year on wrapping paper, tape, and bows. At first, I thought, "What if I just bought a bunch of pillow cases, decorated them, and put all the gifts in those?! And then I could reuse them every year!" Then I realized that pillow cases might not be the ideal size for some of the extra small and extra large gifts. Then it hit me...... "What if I used Christmas-y fabric and made bags of all different sizes?!?! YES! It's perfect!" Then I thought, "Oh, wait, I don't sew.... Oh, but Mom does, and she'll LOVE this idea!"
I called my mom and told her my idea for reusable Christmas fabric gift bags and she immediately jumped on board! This was just 2 weeks before Christmas, and we still managed to find enough cute fabrics to make all the bags. Using her sewing machine, she whipped them up in practically no time at all! I think she spent part of an afternoon making them. We decided to make all kinds of different sizes to fit a variety of gifts. She just sewed up the 2 sides and the bottoms, just like a pillow case. Easy peasy. (If you know how to sew, of course.)
I also purchased some fabric ribbon in Christmas colors to tie off the tops, once the gifts were placed inside. You could use hang tags to label the gifts. I chose to secretly assign each person a different color ribbon, and on Christmas morning, I revealed everyone's colors.
These bags work great for oddly-shaped gifts, as well as books, gift cards, clothing, and extra large items.
I think it took me less than an hour to wrap bag everything, and I actually went to bed well before midnight on Christmas Eve! That hasn't happened in at least 10 years! For once, I did not feel (or look) like a zombie on Christmas morning! Yay!
They looked lovely under the tree, and everyone who visited commented on them.
Here they are, all folded and ready to go for next Christmas. And I don't think we even filled 1 whole trash bag. More sleep, less mess, money saved..... now that's my kind of Christmas!
So why not GO GREEN this Christmas and whip up some of your own fabric gift bags? Since my mom hand made these, they became an instant keepsake in our family, that we'll use for many years to come. And if they ever start to get dirty, they can easily be thrown into the washer and dryer!
My mom decided this would be a great idea for non-Christmas gifts as well, such as family birthdays, etc. The possibilities are endless!
Happy Christmas!
This post is participating in the following link parties.Click on over for lots more Christmas inspiration!
I love this idea! I have gotten the gift boxes that are already designed, like the box type boxes, not shirt style. I use them year after year, but I really like this idea better, less storage room during the rest of the year. I also LOVE the different ribbon per family member, keeps sneakies out since they won't know who's packages they are looking at! Thank you as always with the great ideas and please keep them coming!
ReplyDeleteSherri, Thank you for the sweet comment! :)
ReplyDeleteExcellent idea!! I just might have to try this out!
ReplyDeleteI love this idea. We will be trying this one for sure!
ReplyDeleteWhat a great idea!!
ReplyDeleteThanks guys! Now that the year has finally rolled around since we (and by "we" I mean my mom) made these, it will be so nice to toss all the gifts into them and be finished with my "gift-wrapping" in no time! Try it -You'll love it! ;)
ReplyDelete~Becka
These look great and eco-friendly to boot!
ReplyDeletewhat a cool idea I'd love you to add it to my What We Wore and Made link party over at http://raegunwear.blogspot.com/search/label/WWWMW
ReplyDeleteThank you!
ReplyDeleteMarissa - I see I'm a little late to the party, but I'll go ahead and join! ;) ~Becka
This is really cool! Thanks so much for sharing - I am definitely going to try and do this!
ReplyDeleteLowri
http://papervinenz.blogspot.com
Lowri - Thanks! I'm glad you like them! If you (or anyone here) end up making them, I'd love to see how they turned out! Feel free to share pics on my Facebook page!
ReplyDeletehttp://www.facebook.com/JustaBunchofMomsense
Merry Christmas! ~Becka
This is a fabulous idea, Becka! I LOVE it! I just told my hubby about it since wrapping presents is on his "top 10 least favorite things to do in life" list. I'm pinning it, too. :) Thanks for stopping by my blog. I enjoyed checking yours out, too!
ReplyDeleteHi Ginny! I appreciate you stopping by and leaving a comment! I'm glad you like the bag idea! It was wonderful to pull these out this past Christmas. The gifts were "wrapped" & looking awesome under the tree in no time flat. And of course clean up was a snap, so Christmas Eve & Christmas afternoon was that much sweeter.
ReplyDeletePlease let me know if you end up making the bags. You won't regret it!
Have a great day! :)
Becka, I too LOVE Christmas bags. We have been doing for years and now I complain if I need to wrap one the old way with paper. In the beginning I used Christmas fabric but I find that we like fun fabric ones too. The only difference in mine is that I have drawstrings. I have made reusable gift tags out of cardstock. I've laminated them and have put string through them. Now I just slip them through the drawstrings as I wrap and I am good to go.
ReplyDeleteAnon, Love your ideas about the gift tags! I'll have to keep that in mind! Thanks for stopping by! :)
ReplyDelete